The present disclosure relates to an image forming apparatus including a developing device for developing an electrostatic latent image formed on a photoconductor with toner and a toner container for storing toner and supplying the toner to the developing device, and the toner container.
There is known an image forming apparatus such as a printer in which a developing device is arranged around a photoconductive drum and an electrostatic latent image formed on the photoconductive drum is developed with toner by this developing device. A toner container is removably assembled with the developing device, and toner is supplied from the toner container to the developing device as the toner decreases in amount.
Note that a conventional developing device includes a developing roller and a plurality of conveying screws extending in parallel to each other, and a long and narrow housing enclosing the developing roller and the like. On the other hand, a toner container includes a case long and narrow along a longitudinal direction of the developing device and an agitating shaft and a conveying screw arranged in this case. The toner container is assembled with the housing of the developing device from above with the agitating shaft and the like held in parallel to the developing roller. By this assembling operation, an input gear mounted on the agitating shaft of the toner container is engaged with an output gear of the developing device and a rotational drive force is transmitted from the developing device to the toner container to rotate the agitating shaft and the like.
In an image forming apparatus including such a conventional developing device and the like, it has been necessary to largely open an upper part of the image forming apparatus in mounting or removing the toner container and mount or remove the toner container by accessing deep into the apparatus. In recent years, in terms of improving the mountability and removability of a toner container, it is thought to adopt a structure which enables the toner container to be mounted and removed in a horizontal direction, for example, in an open state of a front cover without largely opening an upper part of an image forming apparatus.
In this case, if it is particularly necessary in view of the layout or the like, an output gear rotatable about an axis extending in an assembling direction of the toner container with the developing device, i.e. a horizontal direction perpendicular to a developing roller is arranged in the developing device and then an input gear is so arranged in the toner container as to be engageable with the output gear. In such a structure, unless the positions of the teeth of the output gear and the input gear are proper, the input gear interferes with the output gear in assembling the toner container with the developing device, thereby making it considerably difficult to assemble the toner container with the developing device. There is also a possibility of damaging the both gears. Thus, this point is required to be solved.
The present disclosure was developed in view of such a situation and an object thereof is to avoid the interference of an output gear of a developing device and an input gear of a toner container and enable the toner container to be quickly assembled with the developing device.